Recalled to Life
by volta arovet
Summary: At the end of 02, Cody stays behind for three days to look after the new world. The child who returns is lost, angry, and sad. Joe takes it upon himself to help Cody readjust to life, but how much can he really help him? *in progress*
1. Introduction

**Recalled to Life**

part one: Introduction

_by volta arovet_

This story takes place in an alternate dimension, very similar to the 02 universe except for the very end. In it, the Big Bad is indeed defeated, but not everyone knows about digimon, and the digidestined's parents don't know about digimon. When this story solidified in my mind, none of this stuff had happened. I'm sure you'd pick up on this, but it's nice to know up front, and it's hard to give clues as to what has _not_ happened, as compared to what _has _happened.

This story is dedicated to shimmercat. She has had very little personal contact with me, but while lurking on the Jyori list, it was her kind words that prompted me to actually post the first part of this story, and to keep writing. Thank you.

* * *

Once the dark forces had been defeated, Cody made the responsible, reliable decision to stay behind for three days. No one was truly worried about Cody. He had Upamon and his various incarnations to protect him, and he had more than proven himself in the final battle. The parting of the younger group of digidestined was uneventful.

"You're sure you want to stay behind?" Yolei asked once again.

"It's only for three days," Cody replied, having explained himself before. "I'll look around, make sure everything's fine, then come right back."

"But you'll miss the party!" Davis cried, his priorities firmly in place.

"Yeah," Veemon added, "and all of the food!"

Armadillomon cast an imploring look at Cody. "Can't we go to the party first and then come back here? The thought of all that food makes my tummy growl." His stomach rumbled at that moment, as if to make his point.

"You're always hungry," Cody pointed out, mirth apparent in his voice when he saw that Armadillomon didn't see how that made any difference.

"Are you certain you'll be able to get back all right?" Kari asked in a motherly fashion.

Cody resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Just in case, make sure that Izzy's computer is on three days from now. If there's a problem, you can just open up a digiport and get me."

Yolei ruffled Cody's previously immaculate hair. "All right, then. You take care of yourself, okay?"

Cody straightened his hair, acting annoyed although his eyes showed that he was in good humor. "I'm the reliable one, remember? You try to take care of yourself while I'm away," he joked.

"We'll do our best," TK smirked.

Davis threw an arm around Ken's shoulders. Ken seemed extremely awkward at the friendly touch. "Okay, Ichijouji, we're going to show you what a real party is like." He turned to TK for confirmation. "Right, TJ?" TK opened his mouth to protest, but Davis cut him off. "Just kidding, TK." TK smirked.

"Very funny, Davish." Davis made a mock-threatening gesture at TK but, surprisingly, Ken threw his arm around Davis's shoulders.

"I'll tell you what, Motomiya. I'll go to your little party only if you promise to serve my mom's special chocolate cake at it."

Davis tilted his head to the side and remarked, "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Ken gave a lopsided, evil grin, reminiscent of his days as the Digimon Emperor. "It absolutely is. Once you've tasted my mom's chocolate cake, you'll realize that other cakes just don't compare. You'll never be happy with normal cake again."

"Mm-hm," Wormmon agreed emphatically.

"Dibs on Armadillomon's piece!" Veemon cried out.

"Oh no, you don't," Armadillomon drawled. "I'm expecting you to save me a piece for when I get back."

Cody put his arm around Armadillomon's head in a semi-hug. "I promise to buy you an entire chocolate cake of your own the very day we get back."

Armadillomon grinned. "You just said the magic words. All right, I'll stay here a few more days."

"Speaking of magic, what say we make ourselves disappear?" TK proposed.

"Yeah," Gatomon purred. "Some of us desperately need to take a cat nap."

"And a shower," Yolei added.

"And some of us need some food!" Veemon felt compelled to shout.

Davis held his hands to his ears. "Okay, okay, I get the point, you want to eat." He held his D3 out. "Digiport, open!" he yelled.

As they passed through the gate, everyone shouted their goodbyes to Cody and Armadillomon. Cody waved at them until the light from the port faded away, then turned to Armadillomon with a matching grin on his face. "Let's go explore," he announced happily, and the two marched off to see what had become of the old digital world.

***

Three days later, Joe and Izzy were situated in front of Izzy's laptop, ready to welcome Cody and Armadillomon back. The younger set of digidestined had hoped to be there as well, but they were forced to run last-minute interference to prevent adults from seeing Cody and Armadillomon's return. They hadn't kept the digital world secret from their parents for so long, just to be found out now that the threat had passed. Izzy casually held onto his borrowed D3, given to him just in case the digital gate had to be opened on this side.

"Here goes nothing," he announced, turning on the computer.

"Let's just hope everything's all right on the other side," Joe added, taking a step back from the laptop so he would be out of the way of the new arrivals. Taking Joe's cue, Izzy also took a step back. "I'm really looking forward to seeing them again."

Izzy nodded, his black eyes shining with excitement. "Me too. I can't wait to hear what new information he has about the reformatted digiworld." Joe chuckled. "What? What are you laughing at?"

"You," Joe admitted. "You haven't changed since the day we first met. You're always trying to gain new knowledge."

"What's wrong with that?" Izzy said defensively, shrugging. "It comes with the crest. So, why are you so excited?"

It was Joe's turn to shrug. "I just like seeing Cody. He's my friend, and I want to congratulate him on defeating the dark forces and then taking the responsibility to make certain the digiworld is safe afterwards. I guess it's a crest thing, too." Joe's grin faded, and he rubbed a spot on his chest absentmindedly. "Plus, I need to talk to him about something. This might concern you, too. Tell me, Izzy, when our crests reappeared during the final battle, did you—"

Joe was cut off as a young man came flying through the portal. Unlike most travelers, this person was not dumped unceremoniously onto the floor in an undignified heap. He caught himself as he tumbled to the ground, twisted his body around in midair, and landed in a ready crouch. He straightened to his full height—taller than Izzy, but not as tall as Joe—and surveyed the room. His mouth hung half open in shock. He ran a shaking hand through his long, straight, brown hair. He couldn't be much older than 16 years, but the way he held his body made him seem older.

His eyes focused on the person before him. "Izzy?" the boy asked in wonder. He pulled nervously at the sparse hairs growing from his chin. He turned his eyes to the other person in the room. "Joe?"

Izzy shook his head in confusion. "Who…"

As Joe's dark eyes met the deep green eyes of the other person, he knew who the stranger was. "C-Cody?" he asked, his voice cracking on the last syllable.


	2. A Search for Home

**Recalled to Life**

part two: A Search for Home

_by volta arovet_

As Joe's dark eyes met the deep green eyes of the other person, he knew who the stranger was. "C-Cody?" he asked, his voice cracking on the last syllable.

The boy nodded his head silently in affirmation. Izzy's eyes widened in shock.

"Where's Upamon?" Izzy asked, not knowing what else to say.

Cody shook his head sadly, tears welling in his big, green eyes.

"What happened to you?" Joe asked somberly.

Cody shook his head again, stuttering, "I…I…" He threw himself into Joe's arms, squeezing him more tightly than was comfortable. "I never thought I'd make it back here," he sobbed. "After all those years, I thought I'd be stuck in the digital world forever."

Instinctively, Joe's made soft, soothing sounds, his hand reaching up to stroke Cody's hair. This seemed to be the comforting touch Cody needed, as his sobs slowly quieted. Over Cody's shoulder Joe mouthed the word, "How?" to Izzy.

Izzy shook his head in confusion, then froze in sudden comprehension. He flew to his laptop, fingers typing at a phenomenal speed, muttering the words, "Time conversion."

"Aha!" Izzy yelled triumphantly, startling Cody and Joe. Cody seemed much more calm now. He looked at Izzy expectantly. A moment later, Izzy frowned, peering at the screen. "No, wait, never mind. Hm. If the two worlds are still synchronized, then how…" he trailed off.

"Hey, Izzy!" Yolei's voice rang from down the hallway. Cody froze at the sound of her voice. He seemed more frightened than he had been before. "The coast is clear!" Yolei continued from behind the closed door. "You better not have already opened the portal. You promised us you'd wait for us."

In one swift movement, Cody crossed the room and locked the door. "Who's out there?" he asked in a quiet voice, still facing the door.

"The rest of the younger generation of digidestined and their digimon," Izzy answered succinctly. "Why did you—" Joe cut Izzy's question off with a sharp signal of his hand. Cody had turned around to face them. His face was disturbingly pale and his body was shaking violently.

Joe quickly closed the distance between them, putting his hands on Cody's shoulders. He looked Cody in the eyes and asked, "Are you all right?" It was a stupid question, he knew that, but he had to say something to get Cody to respond.

Cody shook his head, his eyes closed tightly. His body was still shivering.

Someone tried the door handle. Cody instinctively jumped away from the door, body tense and ready for action.

"Hey, it's locked! What gives?" Davis yelled.

"You're turning it the wrong way. Let me try," came TK's voice. The door handle jiggled again.

Joe examined the expression on Cody's face. Slowly, he asked, "Do you want to see your friends?"

Cody seemed torn between longing and fear. Finally, he shook his head back and forth.

"It's all right, Cody, we won't make you do anything you don't want to," Joe said soothingly. "If you don't think you're ready to see your friends yet, you don't have to."

Joe's words seemed to calm Cody down for a moment.

"Izzy, you are going to be so incredibly dead if you don't open this door by the time I count to ten! That goes for you too, Joe," Yolei yelled through the locked door. She then started counting in an irritated manner.

"Please," Cody said in a broken voice. "I don't think I can face them. Not now. How can I, I can't, I…" Cody trailed off, starting to panic again. Yolei had already reached the number four. "Please," Cody whispered again.

"If you're going to do something, I suggest you do so quickly," Izzy advised. Yolei was on six.

Joe held his hand to his chest, wincing slightly. The moment past, he surveyed the room. "Out the window and down the fire escape," Joe said quickly, motioning to Cody. Yolei counted the number seven. "I can give you a ride on my moped."

Cody nodded, opened the window, and jumped through it with athletic ease. Joe hurried after him, but as Yolei counted eight, Izzy caught Joe by the arm. "Wait, Joe," he whispered urgently. "How do we even know that this is Cody? It could be some trick by an evil—"

Joe cut him off. "I know it's really Cody."

"But how—"

"I'll explain later," Joe said as Yolei shouted the number nine. "Cover for us. We'll deal with this later."

With that, Joe awkwardly scrambled through the window. He looked down and saw Cody jump off the last level of the fire escape and land on the ground with the skill of a trained gymnast. "He's not even out of breath," Joe muttered to himself, already panting.

"Ten!" Yolei shouted. "Time's up! Go for it, Veemon!"

"Here goes nothing," Veemon slurred happily. "Vee headbutt!"

Izzy opened the door before Veemon could destroy it. "You know, the destruction of property isn't exactly conducive to keeping a low profile," he chided gently.

"Where's Cody?" TK asked.

"Where's Joe?" Kari asked, peering about the room.

Izzy laughed nervously and wished that he were anywhere else but where he was. Mentally, he prepared himself: he was Koushiro Izumi, computer genius extraordinaire and bearer of the crest of knowledge. He could use that great intellect to create a plausible excuse…right?

Joe ran over to his moped, where Cody was standing. Cody seemed much more collected than before; the exercise had revived him somewhat. Joe, on the other hand, was slumped over, still trying to catch his breath.

Wheezing, Joe straightened up and climbed onto his moped. He rubbed the handlebar affectionately as it purred into life. With one hand, he scooped up his helmet. With the other one, he patted the seat behind him. "Hop on. Sorry I don't have a helmet for you. Do you remember the drill?"

Cody half-smiled for the first time since his return. "Hold on tight and don't let go?"

Joe nodded. "Right." Cody hopped onto the bike and put his arms around Joe's chest. Wincing, Joe adjusted Cody's arms so they lay a little lower. He reminded himself that he really needed to talk to Cody about the scar, once Cody was feeling better.

"You doing all right back there?" Joe asked once they were underway. Cody, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his long hair, hummed a positive response. "Good. Eventually, we're going to come to an intersection. At that place, we could turn right and go to your apartment," Joe felt Cody's arms instantly tighten around his chest. "We could go left and you can stay at my house. We could go straight and get you a hotel room so you can have some time to be by yourself. Or we could turn around and go back to meet your friends. It's your decision."

Joe drove on in silence, leaving Cody free to consider his choices. Much as he wanted to offer advice, Joe didn't want to pressure Cody in any way. Eventually, Joe said, "We're at the intersection."

Cody started to stammer. Joe shushed him and told him not to worry. The light was green; Joe drove straight through the intersection. "You can have more time to decide, if you like."

"Thank you," Cody whispered gratefully, memories returning to him.

_Okay, Armadillomon, it's time to go home._

_All right! You still owe me that chocolate cake. I haven't forgotten, you know._

_I remember. Now hang on!_

_Er, Cody, why are we still here?_

_I'm not sure. Digiport, open! Open!_

_Uh, Cody, I think it's broken. Lookit the TV, it's all static-y._

_I guess we'll have to find another one. I hope the others don't get too worried if we're a little late._

They rode on for some time, but eventually Joe maneuvered his way back to the same intersection. "Same choices," he announced gently. "Right: home, left: my house, straight: hotel, or we can turn around and see your friends."

Cody didn't answer, so Joe drove straight through.

_It looks like this one's broken too, Cody._

_Right._

_Have you been able to email anybody?_

_I can't get it to work, either._

_Well, cheer up, Cody. We're bound to find a working TV sooner or later. I think there's another one real near by, just to the north of here._

Again, they traveled around Odaiba, enjoying the ride. Cody had already recognized some of the more familiar landmarks, but he had only just begun to reacquaint himself with the city. He was dreading the moment when Joe would come to the intersection again. He just wanted to ride forever like this. While they rode, the wind could blow all of the memories he didn't want to keep. When they stopped, Cody knew that there would be so many questions people would ask him, questions that he didn't want to answer.

__

This one looks like it's broken, too. It's gotten pretty dark, Cody. I think we should get some shut-eye and keep looking tomorrow.

Don't you recognize this place?

What's that, Cody?

This is the first TV set we found. This is where I was supposed to go home.

We've got to keep on looking. Tomorrow, let's circle around south. Maybe we'll have better luck with that region. We should look for some of our friends, too. They could probably help us. What do you say, Cody?

We've been searching for four days. We've been searching for four days, and we're back where we started. Digiport open!

We'll keep looking until we get you back home. Don't worry.

DIGIPORT OPEN!

Cody…are you crying?

OPEN! PLEASE? Digiport, open. Please. Open.

You should lie down, Cody. You must be tired. Yeah, that's good. We'll just rest right here.

Open. Open. Please, please, please, please, open….

He didn't want to face the questions, but at the same time he didn't want to be alone. As Joe reached the intersection for the third time, Cody said in a strong voice, "Turn left."

Joe did his best to keep his expression neutral. Without answering, he veered left. He quickly arrived at his own house. Pulling his helmet off, he tucked an errant strand of blue hair behind his ear and offered Cody a hand. Not seeing Joe's gesture, Cody neatly hopped off, landing lightly on his feet.

"You can use Jim's old room," Joe said easily, as if Cody sleeping over were nothing out of the ordinary. He led Cody into the house, talking all the while. "My parents are going to be out all of tonight. They won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

Joe opened the door to Jim's room. "Ah, here we are." He looked Cody over quickly. "You'll need a change of clothes. Wait here." Cody awkwardly sat on the edge of the bed as Joe rushed out of the room. A moment later, Joe bustled back in, his arms overflowing with clothes. He dumped them on the end of the bed, smoothing imaginary wrinkles out of one of the uniforms.

"You're about my size…now." Joe said, trying his best to maintain a casual attitude as the reality of Cody's age sunk in. Three days ago, Cody had been only as tall as Joe's waist, and now he was able to wear Joe's clothes. Joe shook his head to clear it and smiled nervously. "They might be a little big, but they should be fine until we can go out and buy you some clothes of your own."

Cody's fingers casually rubbed the edge of a gray flannel shirt.

"Those are pajamas for tonight," Joe explained. "You can wear my school uniforms during the day."

"Thank you, Joe," Cody said softly, still rubbing the fabric absentmindedly.

Joe shrugged. "It's no problem. I can only wear one outfit at a time, right? So I don't mind sharing what I'm not wearing."

"I don't just mean for the clothes. Thank you for everything, for being so nice and helping me when I couldn't…" Cody looked away, suddenly upset again.

Joe put a hand on Cody's shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

Cody seemed desperate. "But why can't I face them? I want to, but how can I… It's just too big," he finished miserably.

"You will be able to face them some day," Joe reassured. "I don't blame you for being overwhelmed. You've been through enough today." Joe stood up. "For now, why don't you change into some nice clean clothes while I get some things ready for you and make us some warm herbal tea?"

Cody nodded slowly. "It…it sounds good to me."

Joe clapped his hands and headed out the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Cody slowly lifted the soft flannel shirt and, hesitating for a moment, held it to his face and inhaled deeply. It smelled fresh, the laundry detergent reminding him of the smell of the digital grass after a rainstorm. He pressed the shirt against his cheek. It was so soft. He was used to the clothes the digital world had supplied him, coarse and threadbare from the numerous hand washings.

Carefully, almost reverently, he replaced his old clothes with the smooth flannel. Testing the bed, he was surprised at its lack of resistance to his touch. How could he sleep on something so pliable? He was used to sleeping on the firm, digital earth. As he thought about sleeping, the prospect of rest was becoming more and more appealing. The bed was too unstable for him to feel secure on it, but using a pillow would be nice….

A steaming mug of tea in each hand, Joe stood outside the room, talking at full speed. "Here we go: 10% herbal, 90% tea, just the way you like it. You know, I didn't think about it before, but maybe you'd like to take a shower before getting changed. That way you'd be completely clean before going to bed. Are you decent? Can I come in?" Joe paused. "Cody." Joe waited, but a response wasn't coming. "Cody?" he asked again, nervously peeking into the room.

Cody was asleep, curled up in a ball on the ground, a pillow propped under his head.

Joe set the mugs of tea on the desk, then pulled back the covers on the bed. Carefully, he leaned over, lifted Cody off of the floor, and gently placed him in the bed. He pulled the covers up over Cody's shoulders and brushed a stray strand of hair off of Cody's peaceful face.

Sleeping, Cody was finally recognizable as the young boy Joe had known. The shadows of fear and sadness that had haunted his thin face while awake melted away while he slept. An innocence only found in the young or simple returned to him while unconscious.

Not wanting to leave, Joe ran his hand across Cody's hair again and was rewarded with a sleepy murmur of appreciation. Not wanting to wake Cody, Joe breathed the words rather than saying them out loud. "I don't know what you've been through all of these, what were to you, years, but I'm sorry that I couldn't help you through them." He ran his hand down Cody's hair again. "I'll try to be there whenever you need me. I promise."

He smoothed Cody's hair one more time before moving away. Quietly closing the blinds before leaving, he sighed and wondered to himself how he would ever be able to focus enough to do his homework that night.


	3. Becoming Human

**Recalled to Life**

part three: Becoming Human

_by volta arovet_

Cody woke by degrees. His first conscious though was to ponder how much nicer it would be if he were still asleep. Resigned to being awake, he reached out a hand to shake Armadillomon awake. Armadillomon wasn't anywhere near him, and Cody began to worry when he felt a large, warm something smothering him, and the ground beneath him started to give way as if he were sinking into the earth. Acting on learned reflexes, he quickly struggled against whatever was attacking him. Sheepishly, Cody realized that he was at Joe's house, the thing smothering him was a blanket, the soft ground was the mattress, and that Armadillomon was gone. Armadillomon was…

Banishing that sad train of thought from his mind, Cody instead focused on puzzling about how he had ended up in bed when, as his last conscious memory told him, he had fallen asleep on the floor. He finally came to the conclusion that Joe had moved him, but was worried that he hadn't woken up when moved. The necessity to be alert to danger had taught him to be a light sleeper. One day in the real world and he was already losing his instincts.

Banishing that troubling train of thought from his mind, Cody instead debated the pros and cons of staying in bed. Pro: he was comfortable, safe, warm, and the longer he stayed in bed, the longer he didn't have to face the real world. Con: he really had to go to the bathroom. He cursed inwardly; the "cons" had it: he had to get out of bed. Really. He was getting up right now. Now. His body wasn't cooperating.

Gathering all of his strength, he sat up and swung first one, then the other leg over the side of the bed. He shivered; his flannel pajamas were not as warm as his usual clothes. He looked across the room at the desk. There was something on it that wasn't there before. Walking over to it, he saw two of Joe's uniforms folded neatly. In a small pile next to them were a toothbrush, razor, hairbrush, and an envelope with the word "Cody" written on it in clear, spiky handwriting. Cody opened the letter.

"_Dear Cody_," the note read, "_Good morning. You were still asleep when I left and I didn't want to wake you. I left some supplies if you want to take a shower. There's food in the fridge if you're hungry. I've put some money in this envelope if you need it. There's a convenience store about half a block from here. I told my parents that you're a classmate of mine whose parents are going to be away for a while, I hope that's okay with you. My parents are coming home tonight, but I should be back before they get in. I should be here at about 4:00_.

"_Take care_,

_"-Joe_"

Cody casually trailed his fingers over the objects Joe had laid out. He picked up the brush and carefully ran it through his long, tangled hair. It was much nicer than the crude hand-carved, wooden comb he had been using. Still brushing his hair, he wandered about the room, looking at its contents for the first time. On the bureau was a clock, stating that there was only half an hour until Joe said he would return. Next to the clock sat a few framed pictures. Several were of a short, pretty girl with dark hair and wide, friendly eyes. In one picture, the girl was dressed in formal wear and was standing next to a boy with brown hair and rounded glasses: Jim. Cody figured that the girl was Jim's girlfriend. Another picture contained a middle aged couple, a smiling woman with brown hair and a serious man with dark blue hair. Cody recognized them as Joe's parents. In a special place in the center of the arrangement of photographs was a candid picture of Jim and a younger boy with large glasses and tousled short blue hair. Apparently, they were caught unaware while wrestling, since Jim was the only one looking at the camera. Both were grinning wildly, eyes shining with excitement. Jim had the younger boy in a headlock, but the boy had his hand in Jim's face. With a start, Cody realized that the blue-haired boy was Joe, many years ago. He had never thought that Joe was ever so young.

_Gomamon, tell me about Joe…_

_Cody! I thought you were asleep._

_I couldn't sleep._

_Armadillomon snoring again? Haha._

_No. Well, yes, but it doesn't bother me anymore._

_Then what's bothering you? Oh, siddown. I was just raiding Gennai's 'fridge. You want a bite of my sammich? It's peanut butter and sardines. Mmmm._

_Um, no thank you._

_So what's on your mind?_

_I was just wondering, what would Joe do if he were in my place? Or Izzy, or Tai, or any of the older digidestined?_

_You'd have to ask Tentomon and Agumon about the other two, but I can tell you about Joe. At first he'd panic, although he's gotten pretty good at controlling that nowadays, but if you look closely, you can still tell that he gets scared. Then he'd try everything he can think of to get a port to open, and if that didn't work, he'd go and find some smart friends like me an' Gennai to help him out, just like you did. After a while, he'd make the best of the situation, like, since he wanted to be a doctor in the real world, he'd end up being a doctor in the digital world. He'd find some new purpose for his staying in the digital world. If there's one thing Joe believes in, it's that everything happens for a reason. So, having all the gates closed and being stuck in the digital world is for some reason._

_He told me something like that, in my first days as a digidestined. I just wish I knew why I'm here, still._

_I won't lie to you. I don't know why the gates are closed. I don't know everything. (Although don't let that get around, okay? I have a reputation to protect.) If Joe were here in your place, I'm sure that eventually he'd figure out what that reason was, and he'd never lose hope that things will work out for the best. Joe's funny like that. And you know what, Cody? I think you're funny like that, too._

_Thank you. I won't lose hope. It's just, there's been no sign of what I'm supposed to do, and I've been stuck here two years as of today…._

He would have stayed there, staring at the photograph forever, except that he had more pressing biological needs. Staggering slightly, he made his way to the bathroom. Once he was finished, he decided that a bath would be nice. It took him a few seconds' worth of fiddling with the various knobs before he remembered how to plug the bottom of the tub and control the temperature of the water.

He gathered the supplies Joe had left in his room, as well as a set of clothing. He dumped them onto the counter next to the sink. The lighted glinted off of the metal blade of the razor. Something drew Cody to it, and, without knowing how, Cody found that it was resting in his hand. He tested the edge of the razor with the tip of his finger and was startled when a tiny red bead of blood appeared. Surface tension broken, it spread along the razor, marring its perfect steel shine. Hand shaking, he clutched the razor in his hand and brought it closer to his skin, then farther away, the closer again. With a groan of disgust, he threw the razor back on top of the pile of clothing.

Quickly shrugging off his clothes, gently unwrapping his shoulder, he gratefully slipped into the warm water. There was a fresh bar of soap resting on the side of the tub on top of a washcloth—Joe had thought of everything, Cody reflected in admiration.

Cody took the time to enjoy bathing. It had been a long time since he had been able to let his guard down long enough to truly get clean. Of all of his digimon friends, only Gomamon had always been willing to accompany him while bathing, the rest preferring to avoid the water. Without a friendly digimon to help protect him, his cleaning was always infrequent and rushed. Being unclothed meant being exposed, and being exposed was always dangerous. He took the corner of the washcloth and rubbed it roughly against the back of his neck. When he removed the washcloth, it was tinted a light brown color, evidence of years of dirt.

Cody smirked to himself when he remembered how much Armadillomon detested water when he wasn't Submarimon. Armadillomon never fully explained himself, but Cody assumed it was something about not being able to breathe underwater when he was out of that form, or possibly he simply didn't like getting water under his shell. Laughing softly to himself, Cody recalled a time when Gomamon had ambushed Armadillomon …

__

Gomamon, what are you—?

Banzai!!!

Gah!

…and thrown him into the river, giving him an enforced scrubbing.

_Hey, gittoff me!_

_Wash behind your ears, la la la! Heehee._

_Tentomon, help me out!_

_Sorry, but you need this. You aren't exactly the freshest smelling daisy in the flower patch._

_Cody!_

_I'm not getting involved. You need the scrubbing._

Armadillomon had been so annoyed with them!

But Armadillomon was gone, and wasn't coming back. The soap slid out of Cody's hand as he suddenly convulsed, strange choking sounds squeezing out of his throat. Angrily, he closed his hand around his shoulder and winced as his fist tightened. The water around his shoulder was tinted a deep reddish brown for a moment until the color faded away, dispersing when it diffused into the rest of the water. Cody took three deep breaths and slid deeper into the water.

Images of Armadillomon and his final battle flickered through Cody's mind, only he wasn't Armadillomon then, he was—Cody closed his eyes to block out the images. When he had first woken up, the only thing he wanted to do was to go back to sleep. With his eyes closed, it was easy to do just that.

"Cody?" Joe's voice called through the house, and Cody did not respond. "You here?" He peeked into the room and saw that Cody was not there and a change of clothes was missing. He swore softly. "I hope he didn't run off anywhere," he muttered to himself, pacing down the hallway to his own room. "Then again, if he thinks he's ready…who am I kidding?" Much louder, he yelled, "Cody! Are you here?"

Sounds of splashing came from the bathroom, and Joe sighed with relief. "I'll be out in a second," Cody called. A few minutes later, Cody stepped out of the bathroom, dressed haphazardly in Joe's uniform.

Joe smiled. "Good to see you up and about. Did you have a good day?" he asked amiably.

Cody shrugged, looking away. "I didn't do that much," he admitted slowly, not wanting to say that he had slept the day away.

"Are you hungry? Did you eat anything?" Joe eyed Cody's thin body warily. Joe was thin, but even his slim clothes hung off of Cody's gaunt frame. Cody shook his head. Joe interpreted that as a _no, I didn't eat anything_, rather than a_ no, I'm not hungry_. "I'll tell you what: why don't you shave while I make you a snack, and then you can eat afterwards?"

Cody seemed slightly sick at the prospect. Joe's face fell. "What's the matter?"

The younger boy unsuccessfully tried to grasp at words. "I, that is, today, the razor, I tried, but…" he trailed off.

Joe quickly stepped forward, tightly grasping both of Cody's shoulders in his hands. "What did you try?"

Cody turned away from Joe's peering gaze. "I tried to shave, but I couldn't. I never, I never learned how."

Joe laughed in relief and eased his grip on Cody's arms. "Is that it? You scared me, Cody. I thought you…but never mind that." He laughed again and patted Cody on the shoulder. Joe looked back at Cody. His laughter stuck in his throat when he saw that tears were welling in Cody's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I never learned to shave," Cody repeated. "It's something that every boy my age should know, but I don't even know how to do the simplest things."

Joe ran his hands over Cody's shoulders to rest gently next to his neck. With his thumbs he pressed up on Cody's chin, sparsely covered with hair, and forced Cody to look at him. "Then I'll teach you," he said, stating the seemingly obvious solution to Cody's problem.

In the bathroom, Joe sprayed a generous amount of shaving cream into his left hand, then motioned to Cody to put out his hand and covered it with shaving cream as well. With two fingers of his right hand, he scooped up some of the white foam and spread it over his cheeks. "It's really pretty simple," Joe instructed. "You just spread the shaving cream where you want to shave, then scrape it off with the razor."

Cody nodded and imitated Joe's motions. It really was simple, once he realized that all he had to do was aim the sweep of the razor at his chin. Joe had already finished—not surprising, since his face had already been shaved and he had just been going through the motions for Cody's benefit. He smiled to himself as he recalled a happy memory. "You know, Jim and I used to do this with our dad when we were young. Except, because he didn't want us to use real razors and have us cut ourselves by accident, he'd give us his credit cards to shave with. Did you ever do anything like that when you were little?"

"I don't remember," Cody said quietly.

Joe faltered slightly, but didn't allow his face to fall. He turned to Cody and looked at him appraisingly, stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Not bad. Not bad at all. But…aha, I've got it!" Joe shouted triumphantly, leaning over and opening one of the drawers. He pulled something out of the drawer, then put the cover down on the toilet and patted the lid. "Sit down," he called over his shoulder, as he turned to a different drawer by the bathtub and took something out of it. "Turn around," he ordered when he saw that Cody was still facing him. Joe grabbed the brush off the pile of clothes and turned back to Cody.

"What are you…" Cody trailed off nervously, looking over his shoulder at Joe.

Joe grinned widely and said, "Relax. I'm just going to give you a haircut. It's only going to be a trim, but you'll look passable until we can get you a real, professional haircut. Now turn around."

Cody did as he was told. A moment later, he felt a hairbrush pass through his hair. It passed through a second time, a third time, and Cody felt himself melt into the touch. It was so unusually careful and comforting. He wondered if this was what Gomamon, his only companion who was cuddly in rookie form, felt like when Cody petted him. Joe gently worked his way through the knots, letting the pleasant silence be as it was.

Cody was slightly disappointed when Joe was finished brushing. He heard a funny sound and a sudden scent of some strange perfume accosted his nostrils. He felt Joe's fingers rub something into his hair. "What's that?" Cody asked, turning around to face Joe.

"When I decided to let my hair grow out, my father said that the only way he'd let me do it is if I take care of it. So, one of the requirements was that I get some leave-in conditioner. It's, ah, 'herbal garden' scented." Joe seemed slightly embarrassed. "It was the manliest scent I could find," he explained sheepishly.

For some reason, that little admission made Cody smile.

"Turn back around," Joe prompted. Cody did so. Joe pulled out a small pair of scissors and began to trim Cody's hair. "You should do that more often," Joe commented after a while. "Smile, I mean. You don't have to, but…you're safe now. You can relax. Nothing's going to hurt you here."

Cody sighed. "I know," he whispered.

"Good," Joe said with finality. "You're set." He motioned Cody off of his seat and up to the mirror. He held up another mirror to show Cody the back of his head. His haircut resembled Joe's, and Cody found that strangely comforting. "It'll do, at least until we can get you to a real hairdresser. I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. You look—"

"Human," Cody finished for him.

Joe threaded his fingers through the newly trimmed ends of Cody's hair. "That wasn't what I was going to say. Do you want to have a snack now? I'm not as good a chef as I am a hairdresser, but I think I can manage to fix something edible."

"Actually, I think I'd like to rest now," Cody admitted quietly.

"That's fine. Do whatever you feel you have to do."

Cody lowered his eyes, long eyelashes brushing against his cheeks. "Thank you."

Joe led the way back to Jim's old bedroom, Cody following meekly behind him. Going on some fatherly instinct, Joe went so far as to tuck Cody into bed. "Sleep tight."

As soon as Joe left the room, Cody took his pillow, crawled onto the floor, and escaped into sleep.


End file.
